Hidden Afflictions:
How Much Are Clunky Old Processes Costing You?
Plenty of industry leaders and experts talk about technical debt with old systems and tools,
yet very few speak of ‘process debt’ with the same level of importance.
A recent article by Christopher Mims in the Wall Street Journal, titled “The Invisible $1.52 Trillion Problem: Clunky Old Software” underpins this tenet and provides an informative read on the magnitude and impact of technical debt. Mims describes technical debt as “an accumulation of quick fixes and outdated systems never intended for their current use, all of which are badly in need of updating.”
This is a significant issue, not just in retail but across all sectors. And surprisingly or not, we often see this type of technology environment in use by leading, global retailers. As the article lays out, it is imperative to manage leadership and business expectations on trade-offs between constantly adding new features versus addressing foundational platform challenges. For retailers, this means addressing core systems that manage hierarchies, styles, attributes, vendors, purchase orders, pricing, inventory, and more.
We would argue that it is also imperative to address process debt.